Last day on the job for Money Mailer employees in Franklin

Tuesday was the last day on the job for some workers at Money Mailer in Franklin, Va. For the rest, the last day isn’t far off.

The production facility, which prints coupons and advertisements, is closing its doors for good after nine years in the community.

About 75 people worked there. They found out it was closing last September.

“We was shocked. We had no idea that this was coming this way, and it was a shock to everyone, said Jesse Austin, who has worked there for five years.

An executive with Money Mailer, based out of California, says the decision was made to keep them competitive. The work will now be performed by a company in Richmond.

“It’s kind of hard somewhat coming in and trying to be very productive knowing that you’re going out the door, but we try to keep our head and maintain, stay focused on the job,” said Austin.

He hasn’t started looking for a new job yet, but when he does, he knows it won’t be in Franklin.

They’ve been hard to come by since the International Paper Mill closed a few years ago, leaving 1,100 people without a job. It has since re-opened, but only a few hundred people were hired.

Austin says the people from Money Mailer who have found new jobs from money, left town to find them. Some were hired by the company in Richmond taking over their operations. Others were hired by Green Mountain Coffee, which opened a new facility in nearby Windsor, Va. Austin says those people have already left to start their new jobs.

He estimates only about 20 people are still working at the facility in Franklin.

That includes Keith Johnson’s cousin and aunt. They’re still looking for jobs.

“They’ve been putting in applications and haven’t heard anything yet,” said Johnson, “Jobs is hard to find out here, so they’re pretty sad about it.”

His cousin’s last day was Tuesday. His aunt’s last day is Wednesday.

As for Austin, he’s still waiting to find out when his last day will be. All he knows is it will be sometime between now and the closing date around March 19.

“Just be glad when they make up their mind about what they’re going to do so everyone can get the chance to move on with their lives,” said Austin.